Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation, or CMB, is an important clue that supports the Big Bang Theory.
Let’s picture the early universe.
A long time ago, about 13.8 billion years ago, the universe was very hot and tightly packed.
Then, it started to expand and cool down. As it cooled, light started to stretch out and spread apart.
The leftover radiation from that time is what we now call the CMB.
Uniformity: The CMB looks almost the same all over the sky. This shows us that the universe used to be very hot and dense.
Temperature: Right now, the CMB is measured to be around 2.7 Kelvin (that’s really cold!). This tells us that as the universe grew, it cooled down.
Fluctuations: There are tiny changes in the CMB that help us learn about how the universe is put together and how it formed.
So, think of the CMB as a photo of the young universe. It helps us understand how the universe has changed over time.
Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation, or CMB, is an important clue that supports the Big Bang Theory.
Let’s picture the early universe.
A long time ago, about 13.8 billion years ago, the universe was very hot and tightly packed.
Then, it started to expand and cool down. As it cooled, light started to stretch out and spread apart.
The leftover radiation from that time is what we now call the CMB.
Uniformity: The CMB looks almost the same all over the sky. This shows us that the universe used to be very hot and dense.
Temperature: Right now, the CMB is measured to be around 2.7 Kelvin (that’s really cold!). This tells us that as the universe grew, it cooled down.
Fluctuations: There are tiny changes in the CMB that help us learn about how the universe is put together and how it formed.
So, think of the CMB as a photo of the young universe. It helps us understand how the universe has changed over time.